FLEMISH RESEARCH ON ARTS AND CULTURAL EDUCATION
CULTUUR + EDUCATIE 19 (2007)

This edition presents four articles on recent Flemish research on arts and cultural education. The topics considered include cultural heritage education, art appreciation, media education and the use of stories in education.

The studies were presented at the conference on Research into Arts and Cultural Education. Together, they offer a small cross-section of the current situation in Flanders, Belgium, and they can be used as a mirror by Dutch researchers, policymakers and people working in the arts and cultural education field.

Cultural heritage education is not a given
Sigrid van der Auwera (University of Antwerp) conducted an extensive field study on the position of cultural heritage education in Flanders. She concludes that cultural heritage is not automatically included in Flemish education. Views on heritage are still fairly traditional; there is no consecutive learning track, nor are there many options for refresher courses for teachers.

Modern art is emotion
Eva van Moer (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) describes how museum visitors arrive at an interpretation of modern artworks. She interviewed art lovers in the SMAK Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art in Ghent. On the basis of those interviews, she concludes that emotions and sensory experiences play an important role. Van Moer advises museums to choose more experience-oriented arts education and information.

Learning from stories
Stories can offer added educational value, argue three researchers from Ghent University. In their contribution, the researchers describe a project for students from the social work programme. Using scenes from film and theatre productions, they had the students reflect on and discuss themes that would be important in their future profession.

Media offer opportunities
Finally, Sophie van Bauwel (Ghent University) describes an educational media project. The aim was to offer children new ways to express themselves using media. Van Bauwel researched the results of the project, in which children attending a primary school in a disadvantaged neighbourhood learned a new audiovisual ‘language’.
Dutch overview